I think a good rule of thumb is that if it sounds like it could be in a Chuck E. Cheese commercial, it's fucking shit, and you should feel ashamed for liking it.

That kind of music gives the whole entire "culture" of Pop-Punk a bad name... worse than it already had from the likes of Green Day and that overrated Dookie album.

YES! I consider "Pop/Skate Punk" a legitimate sub-culture!

There are punk kids (now young adults, many in their mid-20's/early 30's) who grew up mostly on the likes of Screeching Weasel, particularly younger generations from a time when "Punk" had mostly given way to "Alternative", and before "Pop-Punk", while it was popular, had not exploded into the commercial shitfest it was to become with Green Day, and later, the nuclear warhead of death-and-cancer-spreading commercialized shit that was "What's My Age Again?".

Chuck E. Cheese Punk, as I shall henceforth refer to it, is entirely divorced from any of that cultural background, if not by age, then by choice (a lot of those CEC-Punk bands consist of members who are old enough to have been around at the same time, it's just that most of were fratboys who decided they wanted to ride the Sum 41 wave with their bros because it's as fun and profitable as it is empty and terrible).

I think a good rule of thumb is that if it sounds like it could be in a Chuck E. Cheese commercial, it's fucking shit, and you should feel ashamed for liking it.

That kind of music gives the whole entire "culture" of Pop-Punk a bad name... worse than it already had from the likes of Green Day and that overrated Dookie album.

YES! I consider "Pop/Skate Punk" a legitimate sub-culture!

There are punk kids (now young adults, many in their mid-20's/early 30's) who grew up mostly on the likes of Screeching Weasel, particularly younger generations from a time when "Punk" had mostly given way to "Alternative", and before "Pop-Punk", while it was popular, had not exploded into the commercial shitfest it was to become with Green Day, and later, the nuclear warhead of death-and-cancer-spreading commercialized shit that was "What's My Age Again?".

Chuck E. Cheese Punk, as I shall henceforth refer to it, is entirely divorced from any of that cultural background, if not by age, then by choice (a lot of those CEC-Punk bands consist of members who are old enough to have been around at the same time, it's just that most of were fratboys who decided they wanted to ride the Sum 41 wave with their bros because it's as fun and profitable as it is empty and terrible).

I have a number of friends who have tried to get me into Paramore and Green Day, but that really doesn't cut it for me. I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned ADTR yet, as that seems to be the flavor of the month for pop punk, as well as with the new Abandon All Ships. I personally can't stand this stuff and I avoid it like the plague. Cheers to skate-punk and hardcore. It is agreed that Strike Anywhere is a fabulous band, along with Crime in Stereo and Defeater (Bridge 9 has like 10% of their roster doing decent stuff). I also love Close Your Eyes. The generally uppity lyrics of 'life sucks now but it'll get better' actually speaks to me and the vocal hooks are phenomenal. Here are my favorite cuts:

Dude they have the exact same formula of 1pt hardcore - 1pt pop punk. The main difference is that CYE's punk parts are heavier while their hardcore parts are really wussy, whereas ADTR's punk parts are basically Yellowcard while their hardcore parts are either Killswitch Engage-y or over the top brutal breakdowns. The lyrics are pretty different too since CYE is a Christian band and they don't let one song go by without reminding you, whereas ADTR pretty much sings exclusively about friendzoning and brodouche anthems.

So overall, the verdict is that Close Your Eyes has one song (Digging Graves) that blows everything ADTR has done out of the water, but overall ADTR is consistently better. Also they put on one of the best live shows I've ever witnessed.

I've grown to appreciate and enjoy some pop punk. I like Title Fight. Definitely should check out bands like Jawbreaker and Kid Dynamite. One of my favorite bands is Husker Du and they are pop like in my opinion at least stuff like Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey is.

Dude they have the exact same formula of 1pt hardcore - 1pt pop punk. The main difference is that CYE's punk parts are heavier while their hardcore parts are really wussy, whereas ADTR's punk parts are basically Yellowcard while their hardcore parts are either Killswitch Engage-y or over the top brutal breakdowns. The lyrics are pretty different too since CYE is a Christian band and they don't let one song go by without reminding you, whereas ADTR pretty much sings exclusively about friendzoning and brodouche anthems.

So overall, the verdict is that Close Your Eyes has one song (Digging Graves) that blows everything ADTR has done out of the water, but overall ADTR is consistently better. Also they put on one of the best live shows I've ever witnessed.

Maybe my opinions do contradict themselves, but it's not an exact science. There is a contextual part to this too, as many of my friends who listen to CYE are cool people, while ADTR is the definitive poser band in my area. I need not detail all the times I have been forced to explain to someone that ADTR is not remotely, nor ever will be 'metal'. Also, I much prefer slightly disguised religious lyrics than the mainstream shit lyrics about love, which I came to metal to avoid. Besides, the Christianity is done tastefully, not like Living Sacrifice.

The first Pennywise, the first NOFX, and Suffer by Bad Religion are some great albums. Not sure if the first Rancid is pop punk, but that's a great album also. I listen to pop punk, but I'm not their biggest fan.

Pop punk (and punk in general) is one of my favorite genres. If you look past what's the mainstream today there is a lot of amazing bands. Teenage Bottlerocket is pretty much the best pop punk band out there right now, but there are some other good ones. Although some of the more mainstream ones aren't bad. New Found Glory is a bit of a guilty pleasure and you can't go wrong with some Descendents, Queers, or Screeching Weasel. Some good modern ones are

Do people really consider NOFX, Lagwagon, Guttermouth etc to be pop punk now? For shame. When I was growing up they were just punk... and Descendents, Queers, Dwarves, and Screeching Weasel were just punk as well. When the term "pop punk" started getting thrown around it was when green day and all that garbage they preceded came along (boy bands with guitars is a very adept description) of which I took no part and really the term was a negative descriptor to anyone who knew anything about good punk music.

I have come to terms with the fact that there is no way for me to make this post without sounding like a jerk and like some crotchety old man raining on you young'uns parade but to be frank, any band formed after 1995 calling itself pop punk is probably dog shit and has more to do with nsync than punk.

You must understand though that "Pop Punk" is a term that has been applied to music retroactively...It doesn't change the fact that these bands are still largely recognized as Pop Punk, and it doesn't mean they are bad by association, nor are all the bands influenced by them who ended up adopting the term.

I also realize that the majority of people who pointed out that "Ramones/Queers/Buzzcocks/Dickies/NOFX [I dun even like NOFX, BTW]/whoever were totz Pop Punk" were fans of shit like Green Day and Blink-182 and did so specifically because of the backlash against those bands.

But still, I think those folks actually made a valid point in claiming that a lot of bands retroactively labelled "Pop Punk" were indeed Poppy as all get out, and it's really nothing to be embarrassed by... So a lot of later bands kept the term while eschewing the associations the term had/has with shit like Bowling For Poop or w/e.

Oh yeah, I totally realize that term is being applied retroactively, I was just musing on the way things were when all that stuff (Green Day, Blink 182, etc.) was coming about from my perspective. There was definitely a sense of melody in a lot of those skate punk bands or whatever (nofx, lagwagon, etc.) and the Ramones certainly had a lot of "pop" aspect to them but when compared to stuff like Teenage Bottlerocket, Masked Intruder, etc. there is a marked difference in the aesthetic of the bands. For all their pop intentions the Ramones... and for an even more comparable band, Descendents... had a lot of grit and "honesty" in their sound that bands like the ones gregor104 linked above and those generally associated with the term lack... to my ears anyway.

For all their pop intentions _______ had a lot of grit and "honesty" in their sound that bands like the ones gregor104 linked above and those generally associated with the term lack... to my ears anyway.

Anyway, since the decline of terms like "Emo" (I'm talking about in the 90's, not the phony music/subculture built around the term later), I think "Pop-Punk" has sort of been adopted as a term for describing that same kind of urgent, emotionally-charged and very melodic/poppy Punk music that was influenced by a lot of the bands you listed (at least in a lot of southeastern Punk bands of the mid-90's onward. IDK what the Punk scene's like east of Chattanooga, though--I mention that because I was pretty sure you're in GA).

Yeah, I'm in the Atlanta area. There's definitely some great punk bands out this way but they tend to be more in the vein of faster 80's hardcore type stuff... which rules but also leaves something to be desired in the realm of the topic at hand. There's also a fair amount of b9 breakdown type stuff like Foundation but I'm not into it... I honestly can't think of a single melodic punk band I care for from around here... or even any worth mentioning really.

I love a whole lot of pop punk! Used to "hate" it when I was in like seventh grade but that was just because I was a judgmental metal nerd and hated on all sorts of bands the internet told me to even though I hadn't listened to them. I'm definitely more into the modern and current scene than any of the stuff you guys are going on about. I can dig some 90s pop punk, like Blink 182, New Found Glory (probably my overall favorite band in the genre), Strung Out, The Vandals, the Descendents, etc. But I don't like "real" OG punk/hardcore at all so most of that stuff brings the ZZZs to me.

Bands you guys should check out are The Story so Far, Handguns, Seahaven, Fireworks, Fight Fair, Major League, Such Gold, Turnover, the Wonder Years. Title Fight is also really big right now but they seem to have a different sound than just pop punk, maybe it's "post-hardcore" but I can't tell. Also, there's tons of awesome easycore bands (pop punk + hardcore/metalcore breakdowns and vocals) like City Lights, A Day to Remember, Chunk! No Captain Chunk, Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals (those last two have gotten less heavy though), For the Win, Me vs. Hero, In Her Own Words, etc. New Found Glory kinda came into this style over their past few albums as well, and the added heaviness make their new stuff better than the old in my opinion.

New Story So Far song that came out a few days ago. These guys are the kings of pop punk right now, better hop on the bandwagon while you can!

That is a bandwagon I will gladly let pass me by... though I will say from the one track I listened to on their bandcamp the instrumentation seems a bit more engaging than stuff like Teenage Bottlerocket, Masked Intruder, etc. but those vocals man... I don't know what it is about that style of vocals most current pop punk bands use but I can't last even 30 seconds into that shit.

those vocals man... I don't know what it is about that style of vocals most current pop punk bands use but I can't last even 30 seconds into that shit.

+1

Holy shit, I cannot stand that style of singing. I like bad/unorthodox/just-plain-weird vocals as much as the next guy, but that stuff literally makes me cringe.I can't even describe it... I could try, but IDK that I'd be able to explain exactly why that style is so fucking terrible...

It's an incredibly prevalent style of trying to sing badly on purpose, which, were it not bad enough on its own, is further diminished by its total lack of sincerity, because it's sung by people trying to sound "emotional" by force-whining everything in the most uniform, phony and totally unoriginal way possible. It also doesn't help that all these people sing through their noses, which is grating in itself.

Makes me ill.

The thing I like in "bad" vocalists is when I actually feel some sincere emotion, like they are actually yelping and howling with so much real feeling that they can't even sing properly if they tried. Emotional honesty... is that so much to ask?

Also, I am familiar with ADD/C, yeah! As for the others, I know very little GA Punk, thought I am familiar with Bukkake Boys.

The thing I like in "bad" vocalists is when I actually feel some sincere emotion, like they are actually yelping and howling with so much real feeling that they can't even sing properly if they tried. Emotional honesty... is that so much to ask?

Yep, one of the reasons those first two Descendents records are so good. the emotion in that shit is palpable... and what's funny about Descendents is that even when Milo was actually singing you could tell it was honest... it wasn't whining... it was agonizing and true to the emotions and you could hear it in the vocals... these current bands, not so much.

I guess that's the difference between the vocals and lyrics coming from a real and honest place as opposed to a singer just trying to ape the popular style and write lyrics that "fit" the genre the band wants to be a part of.

There is some pop punk that I really like. Teenage Bottlerocket, The Vandals, Nofx, Screeching Weasel, Operation Ivy, etc. I really like the Dollyrots too. Usually stuff like that is a little too pop for me but with their high energy combined with the sugary sweet pop just really works for me.

yeah I remember Operation Ivy- they were one of the original Oakland punk bands that split up right about the time Green Day first started out- they had a bit of ska in their sound, but it was not overwhelming. I think both Dave and Pat Mello (bass and drums) formed some band called Schlong, who were this weird bass-driven jazz-punk band, they played here in Boise some years ago and sounded a lot like Mike Watt's solo stuff. Green Day used to cover Operation Ivy songs in their live show, interestingly, and would always bring a guy out from the audience to jam with them during tunes like "All I know (is that I dont know nothing)" (and please dont ask me how I know this...ha ha)

Anyone remember the Reno, Nevada band Zoinks! I was really into those guys for some reason. There was a couple local bands, Haggis (the Idaho one, not the one from Arizona) and the Adversives who used to play what could be called pop punk but with more aggression and "Balls" so to speak- Haggis in particular had more of a gruff, Motorhead-ish feel to them.

I used to listen a lot of pop-punk when I was a teenager. Especially shit like Blink-182, Wheatus, Sum41, Good Charlotte etc. I can't listen to them anymore - the sound of the vocals usually irritate the shit out of me.

How to Clean Everything and Less Talk, More Rock by Propagandhi are some of my favorite albums ever. For a pop punk band (yeah, I'd say pop punk is still a huge part of their music, even in their decidedly "heavier" albums from Today's Empires and onwards) they are pretty riffy, and their vocal hooks are super catchy. If you are a dirty leftist like me, you'll probably like their lyrics. Plus they are from my hometown! I'll always have a soft spot for NOFX, and while they are kinda washed up nowadays, their early albums are legitimately good punk offerings. Rancid is fun too. Besides that, I don't have much use for pop punk, but I know bands like Screeching Weasel are generally well regarded.

I actually liked the Decendants "Comeback" album from '96- "Everything Sucks." THERES an album which would fit right in with the "albums that revived a band's career" thread (or whatever it's called) in the other forum. It is almost as good, if not better! than "Milo Goes To College-" everything I ever liked about the band is captured in that album.

I actually liked the Decendants "Comeback" album from '96- "Everything Sucks." THERES an album which would fit right in with the "albums that revived a band's career" thread (or whatever it's called) in the other forum. It is almost as good, if not better! than "Milo Goes To College-" everything I ever liked about the band is captured in that album.

I wouldn't go THAT far but yeah, it rules. I'd put it right behind MG2C and I Don't Want To Grow Up.

I love a whole lot of pop punk! Used to "hate" it when I was in like seventh grade but that was just because I was a judgmental metal nerd and hated on all sorts of bands the internet told me to even though I hadn't listened to them. I'm definitely more into the modern and current scene than any of the stuff you guys are going on about. I can dig some 90s pop punk, like Blink 182, New Found Glory (probably my overall favorite band in the genre), Strung Out, The Vandals, the Descendents, etc. But I don't like "real" OG punk/hardcore at all so most of that stuff brings the ZZZs to me.

Bands you guys should check out are The Story so Far, Handguns, Seahaven, Fireworks, Fight Fair, Major League, Such Gold, Turnover, the Wonder Years. Title Fight is also really big right now but they seem to have a different sound than just pop punk, maybe it's "post-hardcore" but I can't tell. Also, there's tons of awesome easycore bands (pop punk + hardcore/metalcore breakdowns and vocals) like City Lights, A Day to Remember, Chunk! No Captain Chunk, Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals (those last two have gotten less heavy though), For the Win, Me vs. Hero, In Her Own Words, etc. New Found Glory kinda came into this style over their past few albums as well, and the added heaviness make their new stuff better than the old in my opinion.

New Story So Far song that came out a few days ago. These guys are the kings of pop punk right now, better hop on the bandwagon while you can!

I like you and your taste in music.Two of my favorite pop punk bands, The Wonder Years and Man Overboard, both released songs recently, and it seems like their new album's may end up being their best yet.

Since I'm brain-dead and replied to a post on the first page, thinking it was the most recent post (I don't remember reading it. DON'T DO DRUGS), but already spent all this time complaining (and being redundant), I am going to just preface the post by mentioning I'm an idiot, and I sound like an old person yelling at the sky to get off his lawn.

My post:

That whole "subculture" of so-called Pop-Punk bands (examples: Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Blink-182, etc.) is the mainstream equivalent of Pop-Punk the same way Glam Metal was the mainstream equivalent of Heavy Metal. It's like comparing apples to wax oranges.

Furthermore, that very music that allegedly "defines" Pop-Punk hasn't been considered "relevant" in the mainstream since the mid-2000's. That MTV Mall-punk BS is a long-dead fad that people still insist on talking about for some reason. Let's talk about the legit bands that were going before that shit and are still at it today instead for a change.

The underground/DIY/not-on-fucking-fat-wreck-chords bands have been and still are around, and they aren't the gel-haired "boybands" people keep bringing up. Those "boybands" don't even deserve a place in any respectable discussion about "Pop-Punk" or "Punk" in general.

It's like U2, only noisier........ No, I'm just kidding. it's not that bad, but it's definitely not Pop-Punk if you ask me. It's too similar to Jangle-y Indie/Post-Punk music for me to think of it as "Pop-Punk".